Understand permissions

Permissions in Google Groups dictate what actions people (members and visitors) can and cannot perform in the group. It is critical that administrators understand the permissions available in Google Groups and how they affect the options available to people using a group. Just about every action a person can perform in a group is controlled by a permission.

Permissions are assigned to Anyone (Group-wide permissions) and to roles (groups of people with specific permissions, such as all “Members” or all “Owners.”).

Group-wide permissions

Group-wide permissions affect every person (members and visitors) trying to access a group. These are permissions assigned to "Anyone" when a group is created and can also be modified by clicking on the Manage button on the Topics screen.

Refer to Creating a group for more information on the permissions set when you create a group. The more permissions assigned to "Anyone," the more public your Google group.

Role-specific permissions are permissions set on a grouping of people within a Google group. For example, the role "Owners of the group" or “Owners” will have certain permissions given to all its members while the role "All members of the group" or “Member” will have another set of permissions for its members. Three roles (Owner, Manager, and Member) are automatically created (with a set of default permissions) for every new Google group. These role-specific permissions can be edited by clicking on the Manage button within the Topics screen, expanding the Permissions section on the left-hand side, and clicking on one of the permissions categories, such as "Posting permissions."

Refer to Default roles for more information on the Owner, Manager, and Member roles.